Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Roberta Flack's debut album, titled First Take in true underachiever fashion, introduced a singer who'd assimilated the powerful interpretive talents of Nina Simone and Sarah Vaughan, the earthy power of Aretha Franklin, and the crystal purity and emotional resonance of folksingers like Judy Collins. Indeed, the album often sounded more like vocal jazz or folk than soul, beginning with the credits: a core quartet of Flack on piano, John Pizzarelli on guitar, Ron Carter on bass, and Ray Lucas on drums, as fine a lineup as any pop singer could hope to recruit. With only one exception -- the bluesy, grooving opener "Compared to What," during which Flack proves her chops as a soul belter -- she concentrates on readings of soft, meditative material. A pair of folk covers, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye," are heart-wrenching standouts; the first even became a surprise hit two years later, when its appearance in the Clint Eastwood film Play Misty for Me pushed it to the top of the pop charts and earned Flack her first Grammy award for Record of the Year. Her arrangement of the traditional "I Told Jesus" has a simmering power, while "Ballad of the Sad Young Men" summons a stately sense of melancholy. Flack also included two songs from her college friend and future duet partner, Donny Hathaway, including a tender examination of the classic May-December romance titled "Our Ages or Our Hearts." The string arrangements of William Fischer wisely keep to the background, lending an added emotional weight to all of Flack's pronouncements. No soul artist had ever recorded an album like this, making First Take one of the most fascinating soul debuts of the era.
© John Bush /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $17.49/month
John Pizzarelli, Guitar - William Fischer, String Arranger, Horns Arranger - Frank Wess, Tenor Saxophone - Joe Newman, Trumpet - Seldon Powell, Baritone Saxophone - Jimmy Nottingham, Trumpet - Roberta Flack, Piano, Vocals, MainArtist - Joel Dorn, Producer - Ron Carter, Bass - Ray Lucas, Drums - Gene McDaniels, Writer - William Arlt, RecordingEngineer - Bob Liftin, RemixingEngineer - Bennie Powell, Trombone
© 1995 Atlantic Record Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 1995 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Gene Orloff, Violin - George Ricci, Cello - John Pizzarelli, Guitar - William Fischer, String Arranger, Strings Conductor - Charles McCracken, Cello - Roberta Flack, Piano, Vocals, MainArtist - Joel Dorn, Producer - Ron Carter, Bass - Manuel Alvarez Maciste, Writer - Ray Lucas, Drums - Theodore Israel, Viola - Alfred Brown, Viola - Emanuel Green, Violin - Selwart Clarke, Viola - William Arlt, RecordingEngineer - Bob Liftin, RemixingEngineer
© 1995 Atlantic Record Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 1995 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Gene Orloff, Violin - George Ricci, Cello - John Pizzarelli, Guitar - William Fischer, String Arranger, Strings Conductor - Charles McCracken, Cello - Donny Hathaway, Writer - Roberta Flack, Piano, Vocals, MainArtist - Joel Dorn, Producer - Ron Carter, Bass - Ray Lucas, Drums - Theodore Israel, Viola - Robert Ayers, Writer - Alfred Brown, Viola - Emanuel Green, Violin - Selwart Clarke, Viola - William Arlt, RecordingEngineer - Bob Liftin, RemixingEngineer
© 1995 Atlantic Record Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 1995 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Gene Orloff, Violin - George Ricci, Cello - John Pizzarelli, Guitar - William Fischer, String Arranger, Horns Arranger, Strings Conductor, Horns Conductor - Charles McCracken, Cello - Traditional, Writer - Frank Wess, Tenor Saxophone - Joe Newman, Trumpet - Seldon Powell, Baritone Saxophone - Jimmy Nottingham, Trumpet - Roberta Flack, Arranger, Piano, Vocals, Writer, MainArtist - Joel Dorn, Producer - Ron Carter, Bass - Ray Lucas, Drums - Theodore Israel, Viola - Alfred Brown, Viola - Emanuel Green, Violin - Selwart Clarke, Viola - William Arlt, RecordingEngineer - Bob Liftin, RemixingEngineer - Bennie Powell, Trombone
© 1995 Atlantic Record Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 1995 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Gene Orloff, Violin - George Ricci, Cello - John Pizzarelli, Guitar - William Fischer, String Arranger, Strings Conductor - Charles McCracken, Cello - Roberta Flack, Piano, Vocals, MainArtist - Joel Dorn, Producer - Ron Carter, Bass - Ray Lucas, Drums - Theodore Israel, Viola - Leonard Cohen, Writer - Alfred Brown, Viola - Emanuel Green, Violin - Selwart Clarke, Viola - William Arlt, RecordingEngineer - Bob Liftin, RemixingEngineer
© 1995 Atlantic Record Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 1995 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Gene Orloff, Violin - George Ricci, Cello - John Pizzarelli, Guitar - William Fischer, String Arranger, Strings Conductor - Ewan MacColl, Writer - Roberta Flack, Piano, Vocals, MainArtist - Joel Dorn, Producer - Ron Carter, Bass - Ray Lucas, Drums - Theodore Israel, Viola - Alfred Brown, Viola - Emanuel Green, Violin - Selwart Clarke, Viola - William Arlt, RecordingEngineer - Bob Liftin, RemixingEngineer
© 1995 Atlantic Record Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 1995 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
John Pizzarelli, Guitar - Donny Hathaway, Writer - Leroy Hutson, Writer - Roberta Flack, Piano, Vocals, MainArtist - Joel Dorn, Producer - Ron Carter, Bass - Ray Lucas, Drums - William Arlt, RecordingEngineer - Bob Liftin, RemixingEngineer
© 1995 Atlantic Record Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 1995 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Frances Landesman, Writer - Gene Orloff, Violin - George Ricci, Cello - John Pizzarelli, Guitar - William Fischer, String Arranger, Strings Conductor - Charles McCracken, Cello - Roberta Flack, Piano, Vocals, MainArtist - Joel Dorn, Producer - Ron Carter, Bass - Ray Lucas, Drums - Theodore Israel, Viola - Tommy Wolf, Writer - Alfred Brown, Viola - Emanuel Green, Violin - Selwart Clarke, Viola - William Arlt, RecordingEngineer - Bob Liftin, RemixingEngineer
© 1995 Atlantic Record Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 1995 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Album review
Roberta Flack's debut album, titled First Take in true underachiever fashion, introduced a singer who'd assimilated the powerful interpretive talents of Nina Simone and Sarah Vaughan, the earthy power of Aretha Franklin, and the crystal purity and emotional resonance of folksingers like Judy Collins. Indeed, the album often sounded more like vocal jazz or folk than soul, beginning with the credits: a core quartet of Flack on piano, John Pizzarelli on guitar, Ron Carter on bass, and Ray Lucas on drums, as fine a lineup as any pop singer could hope to recruit. With only one exception -- the bluesy, grooving opener "Compared to What," during which Flack proves her chops as a soul belter -- she concentrates on readings of soft, meditative material. A pair of folk covers, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye," are heart-wrenching standouts; the first even became a surprise hit two years later, when its appearance in the Clint Eastwood film Play Misty for Me pushed it to the top of the pop charts and earned Flack her first Grammy award for Record of the Year. Her arrangement of the traditional "I Told Jesus" has a simmering power, while "Ballad of the Sad Young Men" summons a stately sense of melancholy. Flack also included two songs from her college friend and future duet partner, Donny Hathaway, including a tender examination of the classic May-December romance titled "Our Ages or Our Hearts." The string arrangements of William Fischer wisely keep to the background, lending an added emotional weight to all of Flack's pronouncements. No soul artist had ever recorded an album like this, making First Take one of the most fascinating soul debuts of the era.
© John Bush /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 8 track(s)
- Total length: 00:45:06
- Main artists: Roberta Flack
- Label: Atlantic Records
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
© 1995 Atlantic Record Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States ℗ 1995 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.